Fri May 23, 2014 at 13:59:15 PM EDT

Yesterday the Republican National Committee narrowed the contenders to host the 2016 Republican National Convention to four cities. Today we'll take a closer look at the specifics for each city and the chances of winning the bid.

Hotel Rooms22,000+ hotel rooms regionally with 3,000+ downtown according to Positively ClevelandUpdate:Positively Cleveland has added that new hotels are under construction which will raise the number of rooms available for the convention.

By 2016 the city will have 19 hotels downtown and offering nearly 5,000 rooms

LocationCleveland's central location makes it a good choice to host the convention

Political SignificanceOhio is vital to Republicans' chances in the 2016 election. The state has voted for the winning candidate in all of the last 10 elections. If Ohio wasn't so important I don't think Cleveland would be a finalist.

Our takeAs nice as it would be to hold the convention in Cleveland, I think there's not much of a chance. After the hotel and transportation issues in Tampa Bay in 2012, delegates will want to be close to the venues. With only 22,000 hotel rooms available in the region, some of the delegations will have quite a drive to the arena. See update above... more hotels are being built.

More than 50,000 guests flocked to Tampa, Fla., in 2012 for the Republican National Convention, occupying more than 78,300 room nights in area hotels. - Columbus Dispatch

FacilitiesAmerican Airlines Center seats 18,532 and has 142 luxury suites. The arena has already been reserved for July 18-21, 2016The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center has over 1,000,000 square feet of exhibit space, a 9,816-seat arena, a 1,750-seat theater, and a pair of ballrooms.AT&T Stadium holds 80,000 people. It is more than a 20 minute drive from downtown.

Hotel Rooms30,000 rooms in Dallas and 75,000 in the Metroplex. Over 11,000 rooms within 2 miles of the arena.

LocationEasy to get in and out of and centrally located in the county, Dallas has no worries here.

Political SignificanceTexas' days as a Red State may be waning in the coming decades. The Host Committee very smartly points out the following, "With 42 percent Hispanic, 28 percent Anglo and 25 percent African American residents according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Dallas is the ideal place for the Republican Party to continue the current outreach to growing and evolving segments of the population who will be critical in the 2016 election". The question is does the RNC truly agree with the significance of diversity in the party?

Weather in JulyAverage High 96Average Low 77Record High 111No significant weather would pose any risk to the convention.

Our takeIf the GOP is smart they know they need to stop the bleeding in the cities of the Lone Star State. Texas will be an easy win in 2016 so it won't help them win any electoral votes. The next few cycles however could see Texas slowly turning purple.

The July Dallas heat will be tough to handle for a lot of people not used to it.

Political Significance Colorado is now a battleground state and helped to put the Democrats over the top in both 2008 and 2012. The central location in the increasingly important Mountain West makes it a good choice.

Weather in JulyAverage High 88 Average Low 56Record High 103No significant weather would pose any risk to the convention.

Our takeDenver has proven it can hold a convention that makes a difference. The 2008 Democratic National Convention arguably put Barack Obama over the top in Colorado. 300 days of sunshine annually aren't all that bad either when it comes to planning an event that can depend on good weather.

On the negative side, marijuana is legal in Colorado and way too many mass shootings have taken place there. Both issues would be covered endlessly by news organizations in regards to the GOP platform.

FacilitiesThe Sprint Center can hold 18,000+ for events. It has 72 suites.The Kansas City Convention Center has 388,800 square feetof column-free exhibit space on one floor; 48 state-of-the-art meeting rooms; a 2,400-seat fine arts theater; an arena that sits more than10,700 people and a unique outdoor festival plazaThe Kauffman Center for Performing Arts could also be utilized for convention events.All three locations are within walking distance to each other.Arrowhead Stadium holds over 79,000 people and is an 11 minute drive from The Sprint Center.

Hotel Rooms30,000 rooms within a 30 minute distance to arena.

LocationKansas City's central location makes it a good choice to host the convention.

Political SignificanceMissouri has voted for the Republican candidate in 7 of the last 10 elections. If adding electoral votes is a factor in the decision, it won't help here. Across the state line, Kansas is one of the reddest of the red states so not a lot of gain would come from this side of the border.

Weather in JulyAverage High 90Average Low 72Record High 112Tornadoes are the only significant weather in the area. There have only been 6 July tornadoes in Kansas City since 1950.

Our takeIt may be good for the GOP to hold their convention somewhere they're so heavily favored. If Hillary Clinton runs and continues to poll double digits ahead of the Republicans, a red meat, fire-up-the-base convention might be a good thing.

Republicans would be smart to go to Dallas. It's a safe choice and would emphasize their conservative values. No way Denver gets it. Cleveland could potentially get it but I don't see how that could help them electorally since Cuyahoga County will go overwhelmingly for Democrats. Kansas City is an odd choice and I see no reason to choose them over Dallas. Anyway, hopefully they go for the worst choice. Wouldn't surprise me given their track record.